At Plumstead

These roads almost insist
That you climb from near-river
Homes - doors on the street,
By thoroughfares that twist
Hillward, without ever
Looking back at low-estate.

Victorian times you see repeat -
Position and a view -
Iron railings and a gate,
High hat and frock coat
Or a bustle stepping through.

A century has replaced
Customs, those lives remote;
Despite which, one infers
The servant and the served -
The menial and the graced -
Gunners and officers.

Roger Taylor

Roger Taylor, a member of the Camden Poetry Group, wrote this poem in 1992. It was published in the Silver Snake Camden Poetry Group Anthology in 1994.